HC issues notices to Govt, others for faulty HIV test kits

New Delhi, Aug 19 (UNI) Acting on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Delhi High Court on Friday issued notices to Union of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Aids Control Organisation, Noida-based company Hindustan Latex Ltd, Surat-based Span Diagnostic Ltd and Chattisgarh state Aids Control Society on the issue of supplying the sub standard HIV testing kits.

After hearing the PIL, filed by an NGO, 'Adhikaar', Justices T S Thakur and Kailish Gambhir served notices to the respondents for November 28.

Nishit Kush, counsel of the NGO, had filed a petition seeking an inquiry into the scam of buying faulty HIV testing kits by the government.

He alleged that a big scam was under way in the Central Government's Health Department in detecting the dangerous virus HIV.

According to the petition, the government had placed an order to the Surat-based company Span Diagnostic to supply 63 lakhs rapid test kits. And the episode came to light when some news channels carried reports about the faulty test kits mentioning that these kits were ot up to the mark as they were giving contrary results.

He said till date no action was initiated against those who had introduced the unreliable testing kits in the market.

''There seems to be a nexus between the government and the supplier which needs to probed and all the kits should be withdrawn from the market'', he said in the PIL.

UNI